Venomous Feathers
by ibuberu
Summary: It was like a toxin, a drug. They weren't supposed to care. – FalknerJanine.


**World **– Game  
**Characters **– Falkner, Janine  
**Pairings** – Fatherlyshipping  
**Genre** – Romance, Drama  
**Note(s)** – This pairing is so addictive lately. But both are too polite for their own good :/  
**Warning** – this is a pointless drabble, for the most part, and not quite coherent  
**Disclaimer –** Pokémon isn't mine.

* * *

**Venomous Feathers**

He marked delicate kisses down the paleness of her jaw line, whispering secrets to flushed ears and unfocused eyes. His hands traced the thin, lithe outline of her shoulders, arms, down and further still. He lulled a step forward, caught up in the heat of their meeting lips, wanting deeper and deeper, hugging her back as her fingers disappeared in his raven hair. It took brief, difficult maneuvers for her to return his lips, given the fact that she was hanging headfirst from the string of web spun by her Ariados. But that was how it had happened; Falkner stopped talking about his father, and his face was catching the moonlight in the most perfect way. She was no different, silent and obliging and pining – the next second, they were kissing and touching like fervent teenagers under the shadow of the Sprout Tower.

It was like a toxin, a drug. His eyes lavished her indulgent face, scoured absently for a sign of hesitation. But all he could find was a stunning beauty with dark hair and long eyelashes. The rest of her features escaped his scrutiny under the dimness of the night. His arms tightened around her as one girlish hands lingered carefully behind his neck, ghosting his nape. Falkner leaned more, more –

They took a moment to recover from the unceremonious fall on Janine's part, the web breaking and sending her tumbling unglamorously into his unprepared arms. The bruises sustained on the couple were minor, negligible – but then she gathered her bearings only to realize that she was on his lap, they were tentatively tangled on the path leading up to the swaying tower. His one arm had draped itself across her shoulder, the other dangerously curved around her chest in an effort to soften her fall. They stared blankly at each other, faces mimicking the flush of pink and averting eyes. Of the previous romance, nothing had sustained (physically).

"F-Falkner–uh," she mumbled, unable to piece a coherent sentence. Her cheeks heated when her arms retreated from his broad shoulders a few moments after his arms released her in a frantic scramble. She removed herself from his legs, sitting herself to his immediate side, quick to break whatever intimate contact that remained after the fall. "I apologise for my carelessness, I mean – I'm sorry, Janine! I didn't mean to, I got carried away and…" Falkner managed to say, his voice suddenly low and unsure, words fragile as glass.

… They _weren't _supposed to care.

Wasn't this what perfectly normal couples did? (But their father's distinct voices, judging, loud and accusing, permeated their minds.)

Janine rose to her feet first, gathering the ends of her long scarf in shivering fists. She stared awkwardly at the other gym leader, as if waiting for him to say something, _anything_.

"Janine…" Falkner began, his eyes never parting from her frowning face, candidly transfixed. Because, if they couldn't get over something so small (big) like this, how were they going to advance as a couple? The male ran the reasoning through his mind, but still, failed to search for the courage to place the thought into words. How odd, that he had the gall to just kiss her midway in conversation mere minutes ago.

"I respect you, and I like you, in fact I–" he started, quickly standing onto his feet as well.

"Stop, it's okay, you don't need to force yourself." Janine was quick to interrupt, her brow furrowed as she mentally berated herself for her rudeness. But she wasn't in the mood to hear much longer. She felt like blending into the shadows, thinning her heavy breathing and hiding in the comfort of the night. This was too hard to tackle full on, and she was in no state to continue on, considering what had just happened. She swallowed and prepared to depart, it was cowardly to run from the things one feared, she knew. He father had taught her, and yet,

"I'll… see you next time," she said stiffly, chin down and eyes cautious.

Falkner breathed.

"I love you."

Janine turned, her eyes filling with emotion and expression, her mouth unfurling from its recent grimace. Her lips moved in an attempt to respond, her face turning a pinkish vacancy. Falkner took an experimental step forward as a heavy weight fell from his shoulders. He perched a hesitant hand on her upper arm, and when she still did not move, he relaxed in relief.

He pulled her into a warm embrace as her eyes grew red.


End file.
